Judges

Suzy Brokensha, FAIRLADY EditorSuzy Brokensha has been the editor of FAIRLADY for the past ten years. Under her leadership, this iconic South African brand has grown and diversified while still retaining its authentic, original and passionately South African voice.

Before starting her magazine career at Cosmopolitan magazine, Suzy lectured in Semiotics and Sociolinguistics at the AAA School of Advertising. She then founded PARTWORKS, where she edited various successful customer titles and continued to freelance as a writer for most of South Africa’s most recognised magazines, winning several prestigious awards for her own writing.

Suzy went back into consumer publishing again to edit Marie Claire before she was offered the editorship of FAIRLADY in 2005.

Jeanett Modise, Santam Executive Head of People & TransformationJeanett is a senior business leader with strategic and operational experience in HR, Procurement and Corporate Services within financial, technology, mining and manufacturing sectors. Her previous roles include Executive at SAP Africa, AngloGold Ashanti, IDC; Mutual & Federal. Jeanett previously served as Non-Executive Director and Chairperson of the board HR & Remuneration committee of Foskor, Non-Executive Director for Cordustex and for Save the Children South Africa, a global NGO that focuses on the rights of children. She currently serves as Non-Executive Director for Indwe Broker Holdings. Jeanett is a qualified Professional Nurse and Midwife, and her academic background includes MBL, B.Com & MDP (Unisa), SEP (Harvard) and AMP (Insead).

Thuli Madonsela, Chief Patron of the Thuli Madonsela Foundation
Born in 1962, in Johannesburg, to a working class family, Thuli Madonsela has worked extensively in international human rights. One of the 11 technical experts that assisted the Constitutional Assembly in drafting South Africa’s new Constitution, she is also the co-architect of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, the Employment Equity Act and Local Government Transition Act. She has contributed to several laws like the Repeal of the Black Administration Act and the reform of Customary Law and Related Matters Act. She has played a central role in the drafting of various transformational policies, including Justice Vision 2000, the Victims Charter, National Gender Policy Framework and the policy framework that formed the basis of the Ministry for Women, Children and Disability Affairs.

The list of Madonsela’s achievements goes on – Honorary Doctorate from Wits University, Forbes 2016 African Person of the Year, Commissioner in the South African Law Reform Commission, membership of the Commission for Employment Equity and the Steering Committee of the Legal Services Charter and executive management in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development – but she is probably best known for her role of Public Protector which came to end in October 2016.

Jo-Ann Strauss, Media entrepreneur and international speakerJo-Ann Strauss is one of South Africa’s most recognizable faces after a career spanning over 15 years in media and business. She is an internationally renowned master of ceremonies and speaker for prestigious international events all over the world.

She graduated from Stellenbosch University with a B.Comm (Law) degree after winning Miss South Africa in 2000. She is passionate about creating a spirit of entrepreneurship in South Africa. She is also an astute businesswoman who serves on the advisory board of Africa’s leading business school as well as Africa’s biggest media company, Media24 and award winning ad agency.

She works with UNICEF and Stop Hunger Now to protect the most vulnerable members of society.

She is the proud mother of a 2-year-old son and a baby daughter with her orthopedic surgeon husband and has an inspirational blog called Modern Mommy.

Kirsten Goss, Jewellery Designer & Businesswoman
Kirsten Goss is the savvy business women and extremely talented designer creating beautiful South African jewellery. Kirsten’s trendsetting pieces have been featured in several publications. Kirsten studied at the University of Stellenbosch where she obtained a Fine Arts degree in jewellery design. She travelled to London where she worked and designed for a leading fashion jewellery house, Erickson Beamon, before breaking away to start her eponymous label in London in 2002. She opened her flagship store in London in 2005 and returned to South Africa to open three more stores in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. The London store is now closed and the retail market is served via an ecommerce site. Kirsten is opening a new flagship store later this year at the V&A Silo District.